Not everyone who moves can deduct moving expenses when they file their income tax returns. Your move has to be work-related, meaning you changed job locations, started a new job, or moved to seek a new job and were successful in obtaining one.

There are exceptions for retirees and survivors who are moving back to the U.S. from oversees.

And there are (of course) conditions.

The IRS calls these conditions “tests.” The “time” test, the “distance" test and the “work-related” test.

The Work Related Test

Say you pick up all your stuff and move. It isn’t actually necessary that you already have a job in the new location. If your moving expenses occurred within one year of the date you first report on the job in the new location, your move is “work-related.”

So… what happens if you delay moving your family and household until 18 months after you start work because you want your son or daughter to finish high school at their old school?

Well, the IRS isn’t entirely heartless. They make exceptions if you have a good reason.

The Distance Test

Your new job location has to be at least 50 miles further from your home than your old job location.

For example, say you used to drive 15 miles to work from your previous home. That means you new job must be at least 65 miles away from where you used to live. Otherwise, you don’t meet the “distance” test.

This doesn’t mean that you have to move 50 miles. All it means is that your new job must be 50 miles further from your former home than your old job.